The Lady and her Lover
by MorganLeFay33
Summary: It is revealed that Lady Grantham has been having an affair with her lady's maid - the biggest scandal Downton has ever seen. Naturally, everyone at Downton has their own opinion on the matter. AU set in Season 3.


_I've been writing this one for a while now, but I only just got back into it. Hope you like it! It's meant to be set sometime near the end of Season 3. _

**The Lady and her Lover: Chapter 1**

Mrs. Hughes was the first to notice. Sarah O'Brien was happy. It hadn't happened overnight and no one else could see it yet, but wasn't that why Mrs. Hughes was so good at her job in the first place? She always noticed things first.

Happiness embodied in Miss O'Brien was anything but hearty laughs, gigantic smiles, and chattering socializing. The first thing she'd noticed was Miss O'Brien's complacence in her interactions with the staff. She certainly hadn't made any friends over the past few months, but there were no more biting comments or power clashes- just peace.

Then, there were the smiles. Miss O'Brien smiled nearly every day now. Her little grins were imperceptible to all others around her, but Mrs. Hughes noticed it when O'Brien didn't think anyone was watching. There it was - a tiny upturned corner of her mouth, as she appeared to be concentrating on mending a blouse or sipping soup from her spoon. Her lowered eyes would become clouded for a moment, as if she were fondly recalling a distant memory. And then, just like that, the little smile was gone.

What made Mrs. Hughes sure of it was the singing. It was not actual singing, but a low hum that rarely included muffled words. She heard it on the stairs, in the hallway, echoing from Miss O'Brien's bedroom. She only sang when she thought no one was listening, but Mrs. Hughes was always listening.

* * *

Mrs. Hughes had been the first to notice, but Mrs. Patmore was the first to realize why.

"Have you noticed," Mrs. Hughes asked over tea one night, "that Miss O'Brien has been in good spirits lately?"

Mrs. Patmore paused to think about it. "You're right! I haven't heard a peep out of her in months."

"I wonder why…" Mrs. Hughes pondered.

"What if she's got a fancy man?"

They burst into laughter until Mrs. Hughes could manage to say, "I wonder who the _un_lucky fellow might be."

* * *

Mrs. Hughes had been the first to notice, and Mrs. Patmore had been the first to realize why, but Thomas was the first to interrogate her.

He sat across from her at the table, stretching his arms and yawning, "I'm off to bed."

"Me too. I'm tired."

He smirked at her and replied playfully, "I'll bet you are, with all the running around you've been doing."

"I beg your pardon?" She asked sternly.

"Word on the street is that you've got yourself a boyfriend. Been sneaking around, have you? Are we going to have another Ethel on our hands now?"

Daisy and Ivy had been sitting round the table too, and they snickered until silenced by a malevolent glare from O'Brien.

"You'll keep your mouth shut if you've got any self preservation left," she spat. "I'm sure everyone here would be very eager to hear about all _your _sneaking around."

Thomas' face went ashen and he excused himself from the table, leaving the girls to watch uncomfortably as the color mysteriously rose in O'Brien's cheeks.

* * *

Mrs. Hughes had been the first to notice, Mrs. Patmore had been the first to realize why, and Thomas had been the first to interrogate her, but it was Daisy who found them.

She'd been told that Lady Grantham was out for the afternoon, so she could easily go upstairs to tend to the fireplace. She had only opened the door halfway when she froze in confusion, unable to comprehend what she was seeing.

She didn't recognize the lady's maid at first, lying on her back, hands gripping the sheets and long hair spilling around her naked body. Daisy was shocked to see her writhing in ecstasy as she let out throaty giggles and moans, arching her back until Daisy could not look away from her large, bare breasts. The moving mass beneath the sheets covering the woman's waist suddenly began to change shape, and Daisy watched in disbelief as another woman emerged on top of her. They shuddered and sighed and kissed, staring deeply into one another's eyes. Daisy did not know how long she watched them there, their flushed skin partially hidden by a curtain of entangled dark hair. They hadn't noticed her, for they were too focused on one another.

It was not until they changed positions that Daisy recognized them. Miss O'Brien sat up quickly, surprising the countess as she gripped her bottom and roughly pulled her into her lap. Lady Grantham squealed in laughter, and they intensified their kiss as Miss O'Brien slowly slid one hand down to where their lower bodies met. The countess groaned wantonly. Daisy couldn't help it. She gasped.

They both turned toward her immediately, and before Daisy could even look into their eyes, she had already started to run. She ran all the way downstairs, never stopping once to look back.


End file.
